It’s such a good idea to think more broadly about careers like this and it’s so revealing! It certainly took me a long time to realise that my original career - the one my degree etc had trained me for - wasn’t what I truly wanted to pursue any more. But then it takes a good while to make that shift actually happen. Your strong awareness of what you what will help to guide you further, I’m sure of it.
Great post, thanks Hannah!
P.s. I was a bit confused because the date on this post is 20th Sept but it only came to my inbox this morning. I was worried I’d missed it!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Hannah. It is scary to realise the thing you've studied in and spent years getting experience in isn't the thing you want to do. But yes I imagine it's a slow shift rather than a sudden u-turn. It's so inspiring that you are making it happen though! And yeah I originally scheduled this post for last week but did something funny in the settings that mean it didn't notify anyone, so I republished today! Thanks for the heads up😊
Hi Hannah, I really enjoyed reading your essay. It's funny because I had my performance and development review at work a couple of weeks ago (my full time job is in administration). My manager asked me where do you want to be in 5 years and my answer was not here! It felt liberating to actually put it in writing in the 'career aspirations' section that I want to work for myself. For me it's about building my own career thread based on the people I admire, my passions and skills 🧵
Thanks for commenting Otega, it does feel scary to admit that you don’t want any of your superiors job, but important to be honest with yourself! Hope you found something fulfilling
Thank you for writing such a thought-provoking and motivating piece, Hannah! This really helped me to think about my long term career in a more hopeful way ✨
I really enjoyed reading this. I felt exactly the same re the career ladder. I love the idea of thinking about the threads between the jobs you want too.
Thanks Emma, I definitely found it a helpful exercise, as well as trying to see the parallels between what you already do and what they do! I feel like every week I'm dreaming up a new career for myself, so it's helpful sometimes to know you're not on completely the wrong track!
This is great! Such a clever reframe of roles that, on the surface, aren’t that obviously linked. I need to have a think of my ideal careers. This is such an emotive and confusing subject for me.
Hey Hannah, just discovered your blog - great article! Some of this reminds me of Cal Newport's "So Good They Can't Ignore You", if you're familiar with that.
Just in reference to your final paragraph - I'm curious to know what you did to figure out:
1) Where to look (i.e. what industries / backgrounds to explore)?
1) How to look (i.e. how did you find people that inspired you)?
Were you simply curious and following natural instincts / passions? Or was there a strategy?
Thanks Dominic! Ooo I don’t know Cal Newport; I’ll have to check it out, thanks for the recommendation.
So for me it was a very instinctive/ natural process I just followed my interests, and what I felt drawn to at the time, which in itself tells you quite a bit. There was no process or strategy!
I found people through reading books, listening to podcasts, reading substacks, looking up workshops and events in the city I live in! Hope that helps.
This is a great way to frame your career choices! I recently realized that whenever I envy someone for their work or life, there’s probably some good information hidden under that emotion. You definitely inspired me to uncover what the commonalities are between those people and see how I can incorporate more of those aspects in my own work!
Yesss Lieke, I’ve also started to pay attention to the feeling for jealousy and see it as information. I hope you’ve uncovered come commonalities there!
It’s such a good idea to think more broadly about careers like this and it’s so revealing! It certainly took me a long time to realise that my original career - the one my degree etc had trained me for - wasn’t what I truly wanted to pursue any more. But then it takes a good while to make that shift actually happen. Your strong awareness of what you what will help to guide you further, I’m sure of it.
Great post, thanks Hannah!
P.s. I was a bit confused because the date on this post is 20th Sept but it only came to my inbox this morning. I was worried I’d missed it!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment Hannah. It is scary to realise the thing you've studied in and spent years getting experience in isn't the thing you want to do. But yes I imagine it's a slow shift rather than a sudden u-turn. It's so inspiring that you are making it happen though! And yeah I originally scheduled this post for last week but did something funny in the settings that mean it didn't notify anyone, so I republished today! Thanks for the heads up😊
Hi Hannah, I really enjoyed reading your essay. It's funny because I had my performance and development review at work a couple of weeks ago (my full time job is in administration). My manager asked me where do you want to be in 5 years and my answer was not here! It felt liberating to actually put it in writing in the 'career aspirations' section that I want to work for myself. For me it's about building my own career thread based on the people I admire, my passions and skills 🧵
That is so liberating to put it in writing that you do want to work for yourself! What an amazing first step, I'm excited for you Oceane!
I love thinking of this as a 1st step too and written acknowledgments hold more meaning I feel sometimes.
Loved reading this! I’ve never wanted a superiors job in all of careers so far and just as you have come to - I know why that is 😉
Thanks for commenting Otega, it does feel scary to admit that you don’t want any of your superiors job, but important to be honest with yourself! Hope you found something fulfilling
Thank you for writing such a thought-provoking and motivating piece, Hannah! This really helped me to think about my long term career in a more hopeful way ✨
Thanks Helen for your lovely comment! I'm glad it's left you feeling more hopeful, career stuff can be quite overwhelming!
I really enjoyed reading this. I felt exactly the same re the career ladder. I love the idea of thinking about the threads between the jobs you want too.
Thanks Emma, I definitely found it a helpful exercise, as well as trying to see the parallels between what you already do and what they do! I feel like every week I'm dreaming up a new career for myself, so it's helpful sometimes to know you're not on completely the wrong track!
This is great! Such a clever reframe of roles that, on the surface, aren’t that obviously linked. I need to have a think of my ideal careers. This is such an emotive and confusing subject for me.
It is so emotive and confusing, I totally agree. It can be motivating or make you feel overwhelmed and completely lost!
Hey Hannah, just discovered your blog - great article! Some of this reminds me of Cal Newport's "So Good They Can't Ignore You", if you're familiar with that.
Just in reference to your final paragraph - I'm curious to know what you did to figure out:
1) Where to look (i.e. what industries / backgrounds to explore)?
1) How to look (i.e. how did you find people that inspired you)?
Were you simply curious and following natural instincts / passions? Or was there a strategy?
Thanks Dominic! Ooo I don’t know Cal Newport; I’ll have to check it out, thanks for the recommendation.
So for me it was a very instinctive/ natural process I just followed my interests, and what I felt drawn to at the time, which in itself tells you quite a bit. There was no process or strategy!
I found people through reading books, listening to podcasts, reading substacks, looking up workshops and events in the city I live in! Hope that helps.
Thanks for this Hannah, and hope you get some value from Cal Newport's work!
This is a great way to frame your career choices! I recently realized that whenever I envy someone for their work or life, there’s probably some good information hidden under that emotion. You definitely inspired me to uncover what the commonalities are between those people and see how I can incorporate more of those aspects in my own work!
Yesss Lieke, I’ve also started to pay attention to the feeling for jealousy and see it as information. I hope you’ve uncovered come commonalities there!